Friday, September 26, 2008

Chew, Chew, Chew...

your food (to the tune of row, row, row your boat, so sorry) Just will not get out of my mind since the onset of my latest class, Anatomy and Physiology of the Digestive Process.

Yesterday it took me almost an hour to eat my delicious salad that I made myself for lunch. All that spinach and red cabbage and yummy veggies, and here I was chew, chew, chew your food. Yikes. By the time I finished I was sick of eating, I NEVER thought I would say that. It seems since my class lectures and readings I just have to stop and really chew my food well. I thought I was but alas I was not. Needless to say, today my dark greens went into the blender this am for breakfast.

I knew that chewing was part of the whole digestive process, however I suppose since the digestive process really works without our help (exception salivating over food and then chewing) that I never really thought of the importance of chewing thouroughly. This totally explains why I feel so darn energetic after drinking fresh juices and blended smoothies, the nutrients go right to my brain. Really they are just absorbed so much faster into the blood stream because much of the work has been done for us. All that's left is for the enzymes to separate the nutrients no breaking down required, and send them on their way to be absorbed.

It seems so simple, but over and over I find myself in a hurry, and even when finishing my meal, I tend to go for more. I find that when I really chew I am more satisfied and honestly kind of tired of chewing... did I just find a miracle cure for obesity? hardly; however, I am sure I sound like a broken record when I say we (especially me) need to slow down. Enjoy and be grateful for good healthy food and live in the moment.

5 comments:

You know what they say: "chew your drink and drink your food." I find I eat a lot less when I really focus on chewing. Smoothies and juices are a lifesaver sometimes, or else I'd spend hours a day eating!

Angie... So glad that you like the green smoothies.Sneak the spinach in when they are not looking and then 'stain' the smoothies with blueberries (then they are purplish) So good for you and faster to get the greens in. Somedays I just dont have an hour to chew it all!

Special Thanks!

Just wanted to add a note of special thanks to my children, Zach, Ariana and Nikolas and my nephews William, Scott and David, for the use of their adorable toes in the photo on my new header! I know it was such torture to take these pictures however, I thank you, even though not one of the 300 plus photos I took has all of you looking in even close to the same direction! I love all of you just the same!